Monday Only Once x Not a repost x
by damandabear 2
Summary: Okay, you guys, this is a new one. Basically it explores the idea of what if monday only happened once, continuing as it was. (chap. 1 and 2 are verbatem to episode) NOW COMPLETE! Please review. I love this story so much now, and I am eager to know what
1. Earth to Heaven

**The X-Files: Monday Only Once**

**By Damandabear 2**

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**ChApTeR 1 (Mulder's pov)**

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"Customers, face down! You know what this is!" yells a man behind me.

Suddenly, a woman next to me screams, "Oh, God," and that's when I see what the man is holding. A gun. _Not now, _I mentally groan when the moment catches up with me. _This is just turning out to be a great day. I'm already late, and now this?_

"You! On the floor!"

"Oh, God! Don't shoot us," the woman cries as she sinks to the floor.

"Shut up!" he yells.

I begin to lower myself at his request and say, "You're the boss." _Anything you say as long as no one gets hurt. Please. _The woman starts to sob. "It's all right," I tell her, knowing it doesn't really help the situation. I just hate to think of what could happen if this woman begins to panic.

"All right, I'm the boss," the bank robber yells. "No silent alarms; no dye packs. Do it just like the insurance company taught you." He moves to one of the windows. "Let's start with the counter money. The quicker you go, the quicker I go. Everybody else, out here on the floor… Ah! Leave the last one. No tricks." The bank is quiet except for the shuffling of paper money. "All right, come on. Come on, come on, come on," he rushes the teller.

"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah," I mutter quietly. _This is just great_. I look up at the window for no real reason, but through it, what I see makes my heart pound. Scully. This is the first moment I am actually scared. At least, before, it was just a robbery, but if she walks in here, then her life will be in danger.

I hear the man tell the teller, "Now get your keys. We're movin' to the ATM."

_No, Scully. Stop. Turn around. Go back to the FBI building. Please don't come in._ Maybe I can do something. "Hey, lock the doors," I blurt to the thief, hoping he will get to them before Scully. He looks at me questioningly. "You forgot to lock the front door."

"On the ground," he orders the teller as he heads toward the front of the bank. But it's too late. She walks in, unsuspecting as can be, only to meet his raised and ready gun. She's not ready._ I need to take this chance to get my gun out. I need to protect her._ I quietly start to rise to my feet and draw my weapon, but the woman (who I just _knew_ would screw things up if she panicked) screams out, grabbing his attention faster than I can aim. My gun is still in the air when I hear his fire, and a sudden burst of pain hits me in the left side of my chest. Not the best of places. Still, all I can think is, _I hope Scully's okay._

I can hear her yelling, "Drop it! Drop it now!"

"You drop it!" the man shouts back. A muffled silence becomes the only thing I can hear, and I begin to wonder if I am about to die. It is hard to breath, mostly because of the pain. After that, almost everything goes black. As I seep in and out of consciousness, I can only feel Scully's warm embrace.

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**ChApTeR 2 (Scully's pov)**

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I barely get inside the bank when I see why Mulder has been taking so long. A scruffy looking man with a bulky coat is holding a gun aimed at my face, and Mulder is rising to his feet behind him. Everything happens so fast. I hear a woman scream, and the next thing I know Mulder is shot. _Shot!_ All I want to do is go to him, but there is one thing in my way. "Drop it!" I demand. "Drop it now!"

"You drop it!" he orders back. I don't move, so he opens his coat. _No no no no no, this is cannot be happening. Not now. Not on such a mundane day when we aren't even fighting monsters._ Under his coat, he has a bomb wrapped around his torso. "You drop it," he repeats on the verge of further insanity. _Oh, God, why is this happening?_

He finally allows me to go to Mulder, and it takes everything I have not to cry. I fall to my knees and undo his tie. Then, I rip open his blue shirt, which is partially red from the blood. I hesitate only a second at the sight before firmly laying my hands over his wound. _Oh, Mulder…this doesn't look good at all. Hold on. Please._

I can feel my body shivering in fear. I can't lose him. Not today. Not ever. He can't die. With one of my hands, covered in his blood, I cup his cheek and try to comfort him. And myself. He closes his eyes, and my heart falls into the pit of my stomach. _No, you have to stay awake. Please don't go to sleep. Don't leave me._ I rub my thumb against his cheek and hold his head more securely in my lap. My other hand remains on his wound, applying so much pressure that my muscles ache. He quietly gasps for air, and the sight of it makes me want to kill the devil of a man who put him in this position. Deciding that pleading is the better approach, I look up at that man.

"They're supposed to call, right?" he asks before I can say a word.

"They're not gonna call," I answer with a shaky voice. I look back down at Mulder, and I feel like I am about to be sick. This is a very uncomfortable mix of emotions. Fear, anger, sadness, and pain are all fighting for domination inside me, but in doing so, instead become a jumbled mess. Mulder is fading fast, and there's nothing I can do. "What's your name?" I ask, trying not to cry.

"Yeah," he chuckles nervously.

"Look, I gotta call you something, right? How about Steve? It's a nice, honest name. Steve."

"Bernard," he grimly answers.

"Bernard." Before I can stop them, the tears finally begin to fall, and my voice only goes to prove I am about to break down further. "I have to get my partner out of here." _Let the begging begin._

"I'm blowing this freaking place right off the map if they come in here."

"Oh, look, they don't know that." A sob is stuck in my throat, but it's not too evident in my tone. "Don't you realize that? They can't see you. They don't know what your plan is." By now I am almost yelling. Mulder's life depends on me. I have to get Bernard to stand down.

"They better know. They damn well better figure it out."

His naivety is really starting to piss me off. "Look… Just walk in front of the door and show them," I attempt.

"You want to get me killed!" he accuses, aiming his gun at me again.

"Oh, God," I whimper silently. I look at Mulder and realize he is almost gone. My hands are covered with his blood, and his eyes have become almost lifeless. I am failing him. I am failing myself. I rub my thumb across his cheek again, and he closes his eyes. While part of me feels some hope in response to the slight movement, the other part of me wonders if he will ever be opening those beautiful eyes again. "I just want everybody to live," I finally say, taking in a cold, painful breath. "That's all. I just… Just show them." He keeps his gun pointed at my face. "You have control over everything that happens here," I reason. "_You do_. And it doesn't have to end this way." He looks as though he is about to start crying, himself, shivering with the same fear I am.

Suddenly, the front doors fly open, and a team of armed police flow through them like water from a dam. "Yeah, it does," Bernard grieves harshly.

I cry out as I watch his thumb approach the switch of the bomb. "No!" _Please don't do this!_ His thumb is just about to flick the switch when I duck my head down next to my motionless partner. I think I see a glimpse of a bright, fiery blaze. Then everything goes dark.

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**ChApTeR 3 (Mulder's pov)**

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"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah," chimes a familiar voice as I fight for consciousness. "How ya feeling?"

I open my eyes to find her sitting at my bedside, as beautiful as ever. "Are you okay?"

"I believe I asked you first," she smiles. All I hear is her voice and the beeping of the monitors.

"I know," I nod, "but _my _answer depends on _yours_. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assures me. "Now your turn. How are you feeling?"

I relax my head back into the deep, soft pillow. "I feel a little sore, but I'll heal. What happened?"

I just notice that Scully has my hand in hers, and part of me wishes I could stay in this moment forever. Always have her here beside me. "Well, after you blacked out, I had a little chat with Bernard. He was hoping the police would call him…ask for his terms…but he made the mistake of not letting them know he had a bomb strapped around his torso under his jacket."

"So no one called?" I ask, pulling her hand closer.

"No," she shrugs. "The police came charging in like bats out-a-hell, and…" She furrows her brow and squeezes my hand. "Something weird happened then, Mulder."

"What?"

"I don't know. It was almost like the bomb went off, but that's obviously impossible."

"I don't understand, Scully. Did the bomb go off or not?"

"Well, I thought it did, but I guess it didn't. It's hard to explain because I saw the explosion, but I didn't feel it…and if there really was an explosion, we wouldn't be alive, now would we?" she reasons.

I try to make sense of what she is saying but can't. "So…the bomb _didn't_ go off?" I endeavor.

"Mulder, I think it did." She looks around the hospital room nervously. "Something isn't right."

"What?"

"Mulder, something is very wrong…I don't remember getting here."

"_What?_" I ask, even more confused. She seems to be mumbling to herself fretfully as she paces the room from wall to wall. I look up to notice there are no doors. Just one window. "Where are we? What do you mean you don't remember getting here? What happened when the bomb went off?" I panic.

"I don't know!" she finally screams at me. Her voice is shaky with fear and anxiety. "This doesn't make sense…this doesn't make sense…what's going on here?" she goes back to mumbling.

I have never seen her like this before. She looks like a caged animal, and I wish I could free her. "Scully?" I whisper, sitting up in the bed. She doesn't hear me at first. She is too far gone in her own little world, trying to make sense of everything. "Dana?" For whatever reason, this gets her attention much more effectively. I notice she is trembling, and it looks as though she is about to burst into tears at any moment.

"What?"

I pull the tubes from my arms and stand before her in my hospital gown. "Come here," I whisper, opening my arms. She walks into my embrace, and I do my best to comfort her. "Whatever is going on here, at least we are together," I console. She tightens her grip around me. For the first time in a long time, I feel like she actually needs me, and despite our current situation, I love knowing she needs me.

"The window," she whispers, pulling abruptly away. I follow her to it and look outside.

"Now I'd really like to know where the hell we are," I murmur.

Scully, who was already white as a ghost, has just succeeded to get even paler. "Mulder, I don't think this place has anything to do with hell…but rather…" Her breathing starts to hasten, and I have to catch her before she hits the floor. "Please tell me this isn't happening, Mulder. Please tell me it's all a dream. Why is this happening?" I want to comfort her. I want to tell her it's not real, that it will all go away, and that everything will soon be back to normal. But I can't.

"Scully," I whisper in a soothing tone, "I was never sure what to think about the afterlife, but you believe in Heaven. If this is Heaven…" _It's not at all what I had expected._ "…it must be."

She stops crying long enough for her sniffles to subside. "Why? What makes this so great?"

I look down at her face and dry her cheeks with my thumb. "Because it's just you and me…no one else…in an empty room…with a bed." The look she is giving me mirrors my own disbelief when as I hear the words escape my lips. _Surely I did not just suggest what I think I just suggested…did I?_

Whether it is out of true love for me or simply the need to be comforted, I don't care. She pulls me into a forceful kiss, and I carry her to the bed. There, with God as our witness…literally…we make love, and it's better than I could have ever dreamed.

I lie awake, holding her sleeping form in my arms, and stare out the window. I see only sky, and I wonder if this is how we will spend the rest of eternity. If it is, I don't mind. But I couldn't bear to watch her spirit die. She misses our lives, her family, and other everyday pleasures of being alive. In a small way, I envy her sadness, knowing I don't share it because I have nothing to miss. The only meaningful part of my life is her, but even in death, I seem to doom her to unhappiness. She stirs slightly, so I stroke her face until she settles once more. _God, I love her. I love her so much, but she isn't happy like this._ I realize I am talking to God as though I believe he exists. I guess now it would be ignorant not to…so here I am…praying for the first time in my life. For her. _She misses her mother most of all. She is worried about her. Even in her sleep, she isn't at peace. How could I blame her? _Just thinking about how Maggie must be holding up right now…or trying, anyway…makes my heart ache. _What could I ever do for Scully now?_

I remember watching one of those DMV documentaries that they show people in driver's education. It was about the MADD group and featured many parents discussing the deaths of their children. I don't know why, but there was one interview that has always stayed with me. In it, a mother mentioned that when she had first found out her son had been killed, she had the desire to make love. At first, I had been taken aback, unsure of why sex would enter her mind at a moment like that, but then I understood that it wasn't about the sex at all. It was the need to be with someone. She had felt so alone that she needed to be comforted and made complete again. She had gone through an experience so traumatizing, so traumatic, that her body naturally craved pleasure and fulfillment.

I can feel tears drip down the side of my face, towards the pillow, as I relate this woman to Scully. Our lovemaking had been perfect…better than I had ever imagined. But _I_ did it out of love. Did she?

"Hi," I hear her whisper. She doesn't look as sad as she did before, but she isn't ecstatic either.

"Good morning," I smile. "Well, since it doesn't seem to get dark here, I guess just hi."

She nuzzles into my neck, and it's warm enough in the room for me to know she isn't cold. She really wants to be close. "I always hoped I'd be waking up to you someday, but I never could have guessed it would be…here," she says, forcing a chuckle to lighten the mood. "It was always just my bed or yours."

"We will get through this, Dana," I promise her. "But for now, let's just stay like this." I close my eyes and just about melt in her arms as I feel her hold me tighter. _She really does love me_. Knowing this, I am finally able to sleep.

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**ChApTeR 4 (Scully's pov)**

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_The best hours of my entire life, and I'm not even among the living_. He was so gentle, so affectionate, so cognizant of my needs and superficial, sexual cravings. I have never had a lover who was more interested in pleasuring me than wanting to be pleasured. Suffice to say, it was…_Heavenly_. But now…_now what? _I mean, personally, I could probably go on the rest of my life…or _death_, rather…laying in his strong, muscular arms…my haven, my comfort zone, _my_ spot…but surely there is more to Heaven than just this. _Isn't there? _I guess it depends on one's own image of perfection.

I've never really thought about mine, but it makes sense that it would end up being something like this. Simple. No paperwork. No aliens. No paranormal cases that the government is trying to conceal, while, at the same time, trying to force us to solve. No need for scientific proof here. And Mulder. I bet my Heaven could look like hell, and I would still be happy as long as Mulder is with me.

He is very quiet. I think he has finally gone to sleep. I wonder what he was thinking about earlier. Truth be told, his forwardness had startled me when he had explained why this is his Heaven, but I'm glad he felt that way. I hope he really loves me and wasn't just being…a guy. But Mulder's not like that. I mean, sometimes he is, but not when it comes to our relationship. I know he loves me. I know it for sure.

Funny to think we have an actual relationship now. All we've ever been were partners and friends…but now it's more than that. Now, we are lovers. He's right, then. _This is truly Heaven_.

No clocks to watch as time ticks by. No time ticking by, for that matter. Not really much of anything here except Mulder, who is blissfully spooned up behind me. Flesh to flesh. God must know how much we are meant for each other. He must have created us that way on purpose, all those years ago, knowing that one day we'd finally be together. I have never been so compatible with anyone like I am with Mulder. And our union only confirmed it further. If only we could have had this before.

He mumbles sweet nothings into my ear in his sleep. He is so content, and it mystifies me. _How could he feel so unaffected by this? Or rather, affected, but only in a positive way? Then again, what does he have to miss?_ It saddens me that his life had so little meaning to him that he doesn't even miss it. No one should ever feel that way. _Then again, the only goal he ever really had was finding Samantha. He never did get to find her_. I start to get restless in his arms and turn to face him.

"Holy Sh…" I gasp when I notice he is awake and staring at me.

"You can't say that here," he chides teasingly. Then, he whispers, "Sorry for startling you."

"No, it's okay. It was getting to be time for my daily scare anyway…not that I'm keeping track." He chuckles at my sarcastic tone and readjusts his arm around my waist. For a few moments, we just stare into each other's eyes, searching for things we already know are there. Love. Comfort. Desire. I reach for his face and trace his mouth with my fingertips. His lips part as he kisses each one slowly and seductively. _Now, this is a vacation_, I muse, realizing how long it's been since I've actually had one.

He stops to nibble on the last fingertip, and I lean forward to meet his mouth with mine. In the middle of our kiss, I slip my finger out of the way for my tongue. Then, in the heat of the moment, he resets his weight on top of my body, and the passion becomes more than I can bear all over again.

A while later, we float down from our highs for the second time and curl around each other's bodies. With no clocks, I don't know how long it took us to get there and back, but it felt like another hour or so. _Oh, God, if Mulder is so perfect for me, why couldn't we be together long ago. I've loved him for so long._ Mulder points to the window and whispers, "Look, we're on Cloud Nine." I give him a tired laugh and close my eyes.

I feel as though I am about to sleep again, when I hear a faint noise coming from the window. Mulder hears it too and gets up to see what it is. "Come here," he whispers.

I stand and cautiously join him at his side. "What is it?" I ask before I get close enough to look.

"It's…it's your mom. And Skinner."

"Oh, Mom," I shudder beneath my breath.

He listens closely to the quiet murmur between my mother and our boss. "He must be telling her what happened." My heart sinks into the same pit of despair it had when Mulder was lying in my lap, bleeding to death. "Oh, God, Dana. Look at her." I can tell Mulder wishes he could comfort my mom right now. Whenever something had happened to me, he was always the one there, telling her it would be okay. Unfortunately, he can't do that this time.

As I watch her, my eyes fill with tears. _I'm so sorry, Mom._ She is crying, too, and Skinner is doing his best, bless his heart. _Even _he hasn't just lost two agents. He has lost two friends.

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**ChApTeR 5 (Mulder's pov)**

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"Dana?"

"What?"

"Do you think Skinner has already talked to _my_ mother yet?"

Her eyes leave the window for a moment to glance at me. "I don't know," she says quietly. "If so, I think we would have heard that, too." She looks back to Skinner and Maggie, only to find that the image is gone. "Where did they go?"

"Look," I gasp and point where she is already looking. "It's your mom again and your…"

"Bill!"

"I bet he really wishes that I was never a part of your life now," I mope. She seems to be listening too intently to her family's conversation to acknowledge my muttering. I decide to go back to the bed and lie down. Scully stays at the window, watching her mother and brother. "This sucks," I groan. When she looks at me, she seems almost insulted. "I just mean that we can see and hear these things. I didn't mean…anything else."

Despite the tears in her eyes, she tries to offer a smile. "I know what you mean. How did things go from being so wonderful to so…well, in your words…_sucky_?"

"I don't know, Dana, but I have a feeling we are meant to see these things."

"I don't understand. What does it matter now? Mulder, we already knew our families love us."

"I know, but why else would we be able to see them like this? There must be a reason, right? I mean, He's _your_ God. You tell _me_ why He would want us to see our families' reactions."

Scully shrugs and eases herself on the bed next to me. "He works in mysterious ways, y'know. You're probably right. I mean, everything _does_ happen for a reason." She sits silently for a bit, but then the corner of her mouth twitches into a lofty half-grin. "Wait a second…correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you believed that God is just a spectator."

"Putting words in my mouth, are we?" Her expression doesn't soften, so I offer the half-grin back to her. Caught in my own ignorant web of utterances. "Well, I guess my theories have evolved in light of recent revelations." She is enjoying this new side of me all too much. "Don't get too used to this Scully," I warn. "Just because we are suddenly both very aware that I could, in fact, sometimes be wrong doesn't give you the right to get this much pleasure out of it. Leave the pleasuring to my _talents_," I smirk.

"Your _talents_ are merely the result of a suspiciously disturbing understanding of the female anatomy. Now, tell me more about this evolved theory of yours." Her tone transforms from playful mockery to a serious curiosity. "Do you really think there's a reason for us to see these things we are seeing?"

"I don't know, Scully, but I _do_ know one thing. If there is, He will reveal it to us when we are ready to know it.

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**Ok, what do y'all think? I've tOtally been waiting to post this until I had enough storyline for you to know it's going somewhere. I can't promise that I'll be able to add to it right away, but I'm just itching to get this out there. Please tell me what you think, and have no fear b/c I do kinda know where I'm going with it.**

**Thanx much!**


	2. Heaven to Earth

**Wow! I am so sorry this took as long as it did, but I was having difficulty deciding what I wanted to do. The next (and final) part will be posted sooner than this one was. Please review.**

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**ChApTeR 6 (Scully's pov)**

He curls up around me and kisses my cheek. "I wonder what the reason could be," I muse. He doesn't offer any ideas. He just continues to hold me. "So much has changed between us in such a short time. Maybe that was part of it." I feel Mulder's light kisses trail closer and closer to my lips with every one. "Would you have ever done this otherwise?" He stops just before my mouth and gazes into my eyes.

"Done what? You?" I give him an amused smirk. "Probably not," he says, serious now. "Would you have?"

"I don't know. Maybe." I look back at the window and whisper, "That can't be the reason. It must have something to do with something bigger. Or," I consider, "this is just how it is, and there is no reason at all."

"What would you change?"

"What?"

"About your life. You told me a couple years ago that you wouldn't really change anything, but what if you really had the chance?"

I take a minute to think about his question. "Well, I guess my abduction caused a lot of hell in my life, and I wish Melissa had never been murdered."

"But you would still join the FBI and be my partner?"

"And miss all the excitement if I didn't?" I look at him with lust and love in my eyes. "Mulder, I wish we could have had a life together. Not just as FBI partners, but more than that. There's something I never told you. I don't know why I chose not to, but it's about my abduction."

"I know."

"Know what?"

"I know it left you barren," he murmurs sadly. "And I've never forgiven myself for it."

"How did you know?"

"It's a long story, Dana, but the short version is I found out when I was looking for a cure for your cancer." I don't believe what he is saying. _How could you not tell me?_ "Scully, I was afraid it would crush you. You were so sick, I couldn't bear to hurt you."

I don't respond, so he rubs my shoulder tenderly until I do. "I wish I would have been able to have children. I mean, I don't know what difference it would have made, but I've always wanted a family."

"With me?" he asks, not quite sure if he should.

For some reason, this brings a smile to my face. "I've never really thought about it, but you are the only person I could ever see myself with…but would you even _want_ kids? It's not like we've ever talked about this…or had a reason to talk about it." His silence is making me nervous, but I'm not sure why. _What difference does this all make anyway?_

As if the action is an answer in itself, he pulls me to him and kisses me. Though there is tongue, this kiss is different than the others that led to _other things_. _This_ kiss is sweet. Loving. Genuine in every way. No one has ever loved me the way I know he does, and I have never loved anyone as much as I love him. _How could we have been so stupid to not take advantage of the opportunity to be together when we had it? All because of a stupid rule made by stupid people that forbade it. Well, screw them! I wish things were different. I wish we had followed our hearts before it was too late, damn it._

I open my eyes again to meet his. "Dana?"

"Yeah?"

"I do."

"Do what?"

"Want kids…a family…with you." A tear trails down his cheek, but he tries to wipe it away before I notice it. "I'm so sorry I was late to work. If I hadn't had that stupid waterbed, and it hadn't sprung a leak, then I wouldn't have been late, and I wouldn't have had to go to the bank. I'm so sorry." His voice has become weak and slightly whiney. "And even though all that did happen, I shouldn't have made you cover for me. If I had just gone to the meeting with you instead of the bank…"

"Stop it!" I burst, startling him severely. "Just stop it. I can't take this! I can't handle all the 'What ifs' and 'If onlys!' They don't solve any of our problems, and in this case, we don't even have the benefit of learning from them! I can't handle the regret, Mulder. I just can't. I'm not strong enough for this." For a minute, he just stares at me. "What, damn it?" I didn't mean to hurt his feelings or lash out at him, but I do anyway. "I'm sorry."

"No, Dana. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…you've been through enough."

"We both have," I remind him. He forms the slightest hint of a smile and secures me in an arm.

"For what it's worth," he whispers seductively into my ear, "I don't regret what we've done since then."

I can tell he is trying to lift my spirit…so to speak…and half of me lets him. But while that half nuzzles into his body and thanks God for our new love and strengthened devotion to one another, the other half of me starts its own series of 'What ifs' and 'If onlys.' The number one 'What if' on my mind? _What if the bomb hadn't gone off?_ Then what? _Mulder was practically already dead._ Oh, God, _I'd still be alive, and he wouldn't._ Well, I don't know that for sure…I guess I can't know for sure…but what if?

"Mulder?"

"What?" he responds tiredly, apparently awakened by my beckoning.

"Everything happens for a reason." He shakes his head to sober up a little more. "I know that now. Everything happens for a reason." I sit up and take him to the window, his hand in mine. "I honestly don't think I could go on without you, and had that bomb not gone off, I may have had to. For all I know, that bullet may have killed you."

"Then, why the bullet? If that was the reason for the bomb, then why the bullet in the first place?"

I point out the window, down through the clouds to the picture playing out beneath us. "Look," I say, "they know now." He raises a confused eyebrow at me, and I almost chuckle at the irony of the moment. Then, he follows my finger to the people I am pointing at. Our friends and families, all together, in a room with Skinner at the front.

**ChApTeR 7 (Mulder's pov)**

"I don't understand. What's going on?"

She smiles and gestures to a little notebook in her mother's hand. "That's my diary."

"You keep a diary?" I ask in a tone that carries enough shock to make it seem more important than the matter actually is…but to be fair, a diary?

"Yes, Mulder," she drones dryly. "But I do believe it would be 'kept.' Past tense."

_Ha-ha_… "Since when have you _kept_ a diary?"

"Since always," she answers nonchalantly, leaning forward out the window to catch a gentle breeze.

"You said 'they know now.' What do they know? What did you write?"

"Everything…but mostly about you." She faces me again and half-smiles. "I meant they know how I feel about you now. Maybe that has something to do with it…one of those reasons you were saying He'd reveal to us."

She moves out of the way, and I look at her mother. Maggie seems to be reading sections of it aloud, but we can't hear her. Part of me wishes we could so that I could know what Scully has written about me, but it's not like I can't guess. Everyone is listening intently to what Maggie is saying as she flips through the little book, pausing at choice entries. She is holding a wadded tissue in her fist, which she clasps at a safe distance from her nose. Her breathing is uneven, so I can tell she is crying as she reads. Skinner has his head bowed, and he keeps removing his glasses to wipe his eyes. Bill, Jr. sits close to Maggie while his wife and kids huddle close to one another a couple chairs away. There are a few people I don't recognize, but I'm sure they are Maggie's friends. There for moral support for their dear friend who has just lost her daughter in 'the line of duty.'

Then, there's _my_ mom. _I'm sorry, Mom. I am all you have left, and I leave you._ I notice she isn't crying, and at first I feel hurt and offended. But then I see her face. She is in deep thought. She didn't know Scully anywhere near as well as Maggie knew me, and I wonder if she is thrown by the words of my partner, radiating off of the pages, and proclaimed in her mother's voice. A woman I would gladly consider a second mother of mine any day.

_It must be so difficult for you, Mom, to be sitting in a room full of strangers who knew your son better than you ever did…or tried. You were always so secretive…so closed off to the world and in denial that the past had ever happened. I love you and miss you so much, and I feel for you right now because I can only imagine the pain you are going through; but you should open yourself up to these people. They will take care of you if you let them._

_Together, you will get through this, if you allow it._

"What's happening?" I hear Scully ask from behind. I spin around to find her sitting on the side of the bed, her arms like support beams, propping up her shruggish form, and her legs dangling just above the ground.

"Not much," I answer…all too soon. The words no sooner escape my mouth when I see Bill jump up and grab the diary from his mother's desperate grasp, startling her and the others. "What the hell?" I mutter, trying to will my eyes to see better. Maggie clutches the diary back and snaps at him…I'm guessing to sit down and be quiet.

"What?" Scully asks, jumping off the bed and rushing to join me at the window.

"Whatever just happened, I think something you wrote might have pissed off your brother quite a bit."

"Oh," she blushes, "…_that_."

My lips forcefully curl into a grin as I watch her try not to laugh. "What did you write?"

"Oh, nothing…just that when I found out what a jerk he was to you during my battle with cancer, I called him a self-righteous, close-minded, jerk, who had no reason to belittle you and say the things he did. That I love you, and one day he would just have to accept that you are the most important person in my life, and nothing I do for you is out of pity or obligation. It's out of friendship, kinship, and a love that only has one flaw."

"And what's that?"

"Not enough recognition."

"Well, that's different now. Don't you think it's kinda weird that your mother would read your diary to a room full of people, knowing that you were such a private person?"  
"I don't blame my mom for reading my diary just for that reason. There's so much she never knew about me from the dangers I have been in to the secrets of my heart, and I'm glad she finally knows about it all. As for her reading it to our friends and family, I think she just wants to accomplish the same thing for them. Set the record straight, answer questions…y'know. But it doesn't bother me. I think I'm happy that it's all out in the open."

"Well, at least your brother can't beat me up or try to kill me," I joke. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound much like a joke, and all she can offer is a weak smile. "I bet he's not thrilled, though, that the whole reason you're gone is because of me."

"Let that be his concern. Not yours," she says. "Besides, my mom lectured him for treating you so rudely during my illness. She explained to him that you really do care about me."

"Your mom likes me," I grin devilishly.

"She's always liked you," Scully smirks. "She has always appreciated and respected you for caring about me as much as you do. When I was abducted, when I was returned, during my battle with cancer…when she saw you crying on my bedside…" For at least five seconds, I gawk at her, dumbfounded as I have ever been. "Yes, she told me."

"I didn't even notice her," I choke bewilderedly. "Why didn't she say anything?"

"She didn't want to embarrass you. Besides, she didn't tell me until after I had been released from the hospital." Scully walks up to me and kisses my cheek. "I guess if my abduction had never happened, my cancer wouldn't have happened either. Sure would have saved us both a lot of agony," she considers, taking my hand and leading me to the bed. We lie down on our backs, still holding hands, and stare at the ceiling.

"Dana, as much as I hate to admit this, but I think your illness brought us closer together. I respected you as a friend and a partner before that, but I think it was then that I realized just how important to me you are."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I answer, glancing at her for only a second. "I mean, when you had been abducted, I was ready to give up my job and resign if it meant catching the men who did that to you, but for some reason, when you told me you had cancer and that it was inoperable, I just felt so…and then you were in the hospital, and Skinner told me you were dying. Dying! I think that was the first time in the span of our entire partnership that I honestly didn't know how I could ever be able to go on without you." Just thinking about it makes me emotional, but I am able to remain quiet enough for Scully not to notice. I hope.

A few minutes pass in silence, and then Scully says, "I sure wish we could be looking up at a star-filled, night sky rather than this boring, white ceiling all the time." Just then, the walls and ceiling vanished around us, revealing a warm, beautiful star-filled, night sky. "Well, look at that," she chuckles. "If only everything were that easy."

**ChApTeR 8 (Scully's pov)**

"Now it can be," he mumbles, putting an arm around me. "Scully?"

"Hmmm?"

"How many kids would you want?"

His question doesn't throw me, but it does amuse me. "Well, I came from a family of four kids…"

"…And I from two," he interjects.

"Okay, then," I compromise, "how about three?"

"I think I'd like to have three." He nuzzles into me, and I can tell he is smiling. Who would have ever thought he'd want kids? But I guess that's not fair of me to say since he's always shown an overwhelming love and dedication to his sister. Of course, family is important to him. I just never thought about him that way. "What would their names be?" _Names? Hmmm…_

"I don't know. If we had a girl, I'd want to name her Samantha in memory of your sister."

"And another girl named Melissa after yours?"

"Possibly. But I would like to have at least one be a boy. William, probably." He looks at me with no particular expression on his face, but I know he is happy. "It's a very popular name in my family, but I think it would be nice to name him after _your_ father."

"If only we knew then what we know now, huh?" We are quiet again, and at some point, we must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I am waking up in his arms. "Hi," he greets.

"Hi," I whisper back. I look around us, and we are still in the same scenery. "It sure is gorgeous, isn't it?"

"You're gorgeous." My lips curl into a smile and I shake my head in bliss. "I wonder how long it's been."

"That we've been…here?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter much." I still can't get over how strange this is. There were no pearly gates, no angels, nothing that I had ever imagined. "This isn't right, Mulder."

"What do you mean?"

"We aren't in the right place."

"What?" He looks at me with a confused but entertained smirk on his face. "Well, next time I'll stop and ask for directions." I know he can tell I'm not very amused, but he shrugs it off. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, this isn't how the Bible describes it. I don't know where we are or why we are here, but this isn't the place where one spends all eternity."

"So, you are saying, that we _aren't _going to be here forever? What's that other place Catholics believe in?"

"I don't think this is Purgatory either, but it's not like I'm an expert judge of that."

He gives me a quizzical glare as though to make sure I'm not bullshitting him. _I'm not_. "Okay," he sighs.

"Whatever happens, Mulder, please don't forget any of this," I plead.

"I could never forget this. I love you, and I finally got to tell you that. I wouldn't want that taken from me." He strokes my face with his warm, gentle, adoring hand and says, "But just in case, maybe we should treat every moment like it is our last in this place, where love is permitted, and where we can finally be together."

The thought of forgetting all of this terrifies me and pains my heart, but he's right. The possibility is there. And just in case it turns out that way, I want tonight to be so good that it will at least live on in my dreams. Mulder takes me in his arms, and I can feel passion and desire radiate from his body. Yes. This will be another perfect night.

_"They're supposed to call, right?"_ I hear a man say.

_"They're not gonna call. What's your name?"_

_"Yeah."_ Now I can hear him and see his face.

_"Look, I gotta call you something, right? How about Steve? It's a nice, honest name. Steve."_

_"Bernard."_

_"Bernard. I have to get my partner out of here."_ I don't want to dream about this. It was bad enough when it was really happening, but reliving it feels even worse. Probably because I already know the outcome.

_"I'm blowing this freaking place right off the map if they come in here."_

_"Oh, look, they don't know that. Don't you realize that? They can't see you. They don't know what your plan is."_ I am dreaming, aren't I? Suddenly, this memory is feeling all too real and vivid.

_"They better know. They damn well better figure it out."_ Why do crooks have to be such boneheads?

_"Look… Just walk in front of the door and show them."_

_"You want to get me killed!"_ Only if it saves my partner and me, buddy!

_"Oh, God." _I look down and see Mulder covered in blood. I don't like this dream. It feels too real. _His eyes are almost lifeless. _This can't be happening. Not again. _I rub my thumb across his cheek again, and he closes his eyes. "I just want everybody to live. That's all. I just… Just show them. You have control over everything that happens here. You do. And it doesn't have to end this way.."_

_Suddenly, the front doors fly open, and a team of armed police flow through them like water from a dam. "Yeah, it does," Bernard growls back to me._

_I cry out as I watch his thumb approach the switch of the bomb._ "No!" I scream, my voice coming to life.

He flicks the switch, but nothing happens. The police grab a hold of him within seconds and escort him out of the bank. I am so dumbfounded that I don't even notice the medics trying to tend to Mulder until one speaks to me.

"Ma'am, you'll need to let go of him and allow us to take over," she says.

"What?" The woman doesn't repeat herself. I am just barely able to release my partner from my grasp, and he is strapped to a gurney and rolled to an ambulance right before my eyes.

"Agent Scully!" calls a distant, familiar voice. My blank gaze travels the perplexing path from my partner to my boss. "Agent Scully," Skinner says again when he is closer to me. He seems to be out of breath, but nonetheless relieved to find me alive.

"Sir? What's going on here?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," he answers looking around. Apparently, Mulder is the only one who was shot. No one else was physically injured, but there is one woman in particular that I just know will be needing some major therapy as a result of the traumatizing experience. "How did you talk him out of it?"

"Who?" _Is this really happening? Am I even really here?_

"The guy," Skinner answers. "The one who was just holding you and all these other people hostage. How did you talk him out of using the bomb?"

"I didn't, sir. I saw him flick the switch. It just didn't go off."

"Well, thank God for that," he says, turning to speak with the man in charge.

_Yes. Thank God for that._

I rush to the hospital to check on Mulder's condition, and the nurse asks me if I am his next of kin. Before I can answer, someone grabs my shoulder. "Mom!" I gasp as I do an about face.

"How is he? I just heard."

"What? Who told you?"

"Mr. Skinner called me. Now, how's Fox? Is he okay?"

"Why would Skinner call _you_?"

The nurse clears her throat loudly, and both my mother and I give her our attention. "Are you the next of kin?"

"Yes," my mother answers for me. "She's his wife."

_What? Did my mother just lie for me so that I could see him? Doesn't she know that I don't have to lie? That all I have to say is that I'm his doctor, and they will tell me anything I want to know?_

"Then, come with me," the nurse orders. My mother pushes me along, and we both follow the nurse into a quieter waiting area. "Right now," she begins, "your husband is in the OR. Though he has lost a lot of blood, the bullet seems to have lodged itself into a place where it can be exerted without any risk to his other organs, and his heart was miraculously avoided."

_Miraculously._

"However, he will not be out of the woods until he wakes up. We will be placing him in ICU as soon as the doctors are done operating." With that, the nurse asks if we have any further questions, and my mother answers no for the both of us. _I have one. What the hell is going on here?_

"Dana?" my mom whispers.

"What, Mom?" I choke back the tears, but a mother can always read her daughter like a book.

"He's going to be okay, y'know."

"Mom, why did Skinner call you?"

"Excuse me, but I find it admirable that your boss had the sensitivity to call and inform me that my son-in-law had been shot. But leave it to you to want to keep that from me, too. All because I told you how I feel about you two continuing this dangerous job of yours when it's not just your lives at stake anymore."

"Mom, you can drop the charade. I could have found out anything I wanted to know about Mulder's condition simply by telling them that I am his doctor. You didn't have to lie for me."

"When did I lie? Dana, are you okay? Maybe you should be checked for head trauma while we're here."

"I don't need to be checked for head trauma. What I need is the truth. What is going on?"

"Honey, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure you'll feel a lot better if you take a little nap."

"Mom…"

"It is not negotiable. Get some rest. I'll wake you the second we can see him."

"Okay," I sigh in defeat. _Maybe a nap would do me some good after all._ _I wonder what she meant when she said that it's not just our lives at stake anymore. Oh well. I guess I'll find out when I wake up._ I don't know how much time has past or how long I have been asleep, but finally the nurse comes to get us.

"You can see him now. He's still asleep because of the drugs, but we hope to see him awaken pretty soon."

"Thank you," I yawn, covering my mouth politely. The woman smiles and leaves us to our privacy.

"Do you want to be alone with him, Dana?" my mother asks.

"Just for a few minutes," I answer. When she leaves, I pull a chair close to the head of his hospital bed. "Oh, Mulder, what is going on here? One minute, I am dreaming about our last night together, and the next…" I take his hand in mine, and that's when I notice my finger. There, around my ring finger on my left hand, are two rings. One is a simple gold band, and the other would be identical if it didn't have a huge diamond on it. "When you come to, we have a lot of talking to do," I tell his sleeping form. "That is for sure."

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**Next section will be up sooner than it took me to get this one posted. (Oh, and the next section will also be the last.) What are your thoughts on this one?**


	3. Heaven on Earth

**Here goes nothing! lol (The final chapters! Yay!)**

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**ChApTeR 9 (Mulder's pov)**

When I open my eyes, I find her at my bedside. Her elbows are on the bed next to me, and her face is buried in her hands. "Dana?" She looks up at me, and her cheeks are red where her hands have been.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was shot in the chest. You?"

"Mulder, I'm so confused. What are we doing here?" I look around to see just where _here_ is.

"I don't know. Did you wish for us to be back in the hospital room?" She shakes her head to tell me no. "I don't know, then," I say. Behind her, Maggie and Skinner enter the room.

"We have a surprise for you," announces Maggie, stepping to the side of the door.

"Daddy!" scream two toddlers (a boy and a girl) cheerfully as they run through the door. My eyes dart to Scully, who is looking at them with equal uncertainty. _Daddy?_

"They've been asking about you ever since Mom got the call," says another voice. I look up to meet the gaze of one very alive Melissa Scully. "Don't look so surprised to see me, Fox," she teases. "You knew I couldn't stay away while my dear sister is here in the midst of so much negative energy. Besides, the kids were bouncing off the walls."

Again, I look at Scully and notice that her bottom lip is quivering, and she looks like she is about to cry. "Dana," I whisper to her. She looks my way, and I see more clearly the mix of horror and amazement in her eyes.

Melissa must have noticed it, too, because she orders everyone out of the room until it is just the three of us. "Hi, Dana," she greets Scully in her sweet, Melissa way. "Don't be afraid. I'm here to explain everything."

"What?" Scully inquires, her tears now falling freely.

"It's okay. Just hear me out. You aren't crazy; everything you remember really did happen."

"Missy?" Scully whimpers. "Is that really you?" Melissa nods and welcomes her sister into an embrace. Dana sobs joyful tears, her body shivering with fear that this is all just a dream. I watch uncomfortably and wish I could have a moment like that with Samantha. It doesn't seem fair that _my_ sister isn't here.

"So, why are we back, and why are you here? Who were those kids?" I ask.

Melissa smiles, and Scully pulls away, wanting the same answers. "It is my job to explain this to you both on behalf of He who makes these decisions. You didn't lead the lives you were meant to lead," she shrugs. "He had shown you both so many signs along the way, but you just kept avoiding them…or missing them completely. All along, you were supposed to be together and have the lives you wanted, but you waited too long. You chose not to give in to the desires of your hearts, and instead yearned for each other in secret. You bottled up your emotions, fearing that if they were to ever be released, you would be reassigned."

"But we would have been," I insist.

"You weren't in this life," Melissa smiles. "In Heaven, every thought is a prayer. I knew, Dana, that you were in good hands without me. You are my sister, and I love you, but I had no unfinished business. I knew all along that Fox was the man for you, and I had hoped you would one day allow yourself to see it too."

"But if you didn't have unfinished business, why are you back?" Dana asks perplexed.

"Because your prayers were answered. God gave you both a second chance because you _did _have unfinished business, but as far as why you would be given such a magnificent gift while not all others do, I cannot answer that. He works in mysterious ways and has always had His own reasons…reasons that are not always obvious to us. I can, however, say that it has something to do with Mom, and Bill, and everyone else you saw. They had regrets too."

Scully paces the room, overwhelmed by disbelief and question. "So, we are together?" she finally confirms. "And everyone knows it?" Melissa nods and gestures to her sister's wedding bands. "We're married? Are we still partners?" Again, Melissa nods. "But how?"

"There had been a hearing, and you were able to prove that you have a flawless partnership, and that a relationship outside of the office would not have a negative effect on it. If anything, it has strengthened it."

"So, they just changed the rules…just for us?"

I sit quietly and take it all in, watching our new pasts unfold before me.

"You two are an exception to the rule. I know it doesn't make sense now, but give it some time."

In an effort to fill the deafening silence that has fallen between the two women, I ponder, "That must be confusing if we are both 'Agent Mulder' now."

"Skinner called me 'Agent Scully,'" Dana interjects.

"That's right," Melissa verifies. "You decided that for that very reason, it would be better if you used your maiden name for work purposes, but legally, you are 'Dana Katherine Scully Mulder.' And you have two beautiful children: William and Samantha, twins, age four."

"Four?" Scully gasps. I probably would have gasped in unison with her, but no sound is coming out of my mouth. I can barely breath, for that matter. Dana looks at me and smiles through her tears. "It all came true." She approaches my bed eagerly and captures my body in a hug, kissing my temple lightly.

"There's one more thing," her sister grins. "Dana, whatever you do, don't drink any beer for at least nine months." Both our chins drop, and Melissa lets out a tremendous laugh. "So, how are you feeling? A little overwhelmed?" Scully's knees weaken, and she has to sit on the bed next to me. "I thought you would be."

"Do we know the sex?" I ask.

"Not yet. Technically, you don't even know you are pregnant yet, but I know my sister," Melissa teases. "I've seen how you two celebrate, and I figured better safe than sorry. But that means no one else knows yet either."

"Ah, gotcha," I smile, pointing my finger at her. Then, I look at my beautiful _wife_ and shake my head. "Who would have thought, huh?" Scully giggles delightfully and rests her head on my shoulder.

"I guess we've got our hands full," she says nervously, "but I have a feeling we'll be just fine."

I look to Melissa and ask, "What about Samantha?"

"Unfortunately, your sister was your main reason for joining the FBI and your search for her is what caused you to become so obsessed with the X-Files. If she hadn't been taken, there is no way to ensure Dana would have still become your partner, and you may have never met. However, that doesn't mean that yesterday's future and today's future are the same. Already, they are very different, so have faith. You will find her. Don't give up."

"I have one more question," Scully mumbles into my neck. Then, facing me but talking to her sister, she asks, "What do we call each other in _this life_?"

"Well, at work, you are still Mulder and Scully. In private, I guess that is up to you. When you are among family, though, Mom has trained you both to use first names. She says it's more personal that way. But if you don't have any other questions for me, I think _Grandma_ is getting a little tired."

I look out the ICU window and see a little boy and a little girl crawling on and off of her lap and running in circles around the bench where she is sitting. "Are they always this energetic?" I cringe.

"Dana was right on when she said you two have a handful. Luckily, you have an awesome sister-in-law who loves to baby-sit." She starts to leave the room, but turns for one last thought. "Don't name the third one after me. I'm flattered, but at least one of your kids should have a name that is original to our family."

"So, it's another girl?" I beam. She doesn't answer. She simply winks and walks out of the room.

**ChApTeR 10 (Scully's pov)**

I toss and turn in our bed, unable to sleep. Melissa offered to keep the kids at her place for the night to allow Mulder and me to get used to our new lives gradually. (She told Mom it was because tonight was Mulder's first night back home, and she wanted to be a good sister.) _Oh, Melissa,_ I sigh inwardly as I recall the embarrassment her comment had caused me. _"Pretty soon, you two will be popping out a third one,"_ my mother had responded jokingly. All I could do was turn a shade of red and offer my best attempt at a laugh. _I hope that didn't give anything away. I still have to figure out how to even tell them._ I roll over to find Mulder fast asleep beside me, not a care in the world. _How did I tell them about the other pregnancy?_

I glance at the digital clock on the nightstand behind him. A quarter after two. _How can he sleep? I am exhausted, and I can't even sleep with all this excitement._ I cuddle up next to him, and his body stirs. I use the opportunity to wedge myself between his arms and bury my face into his chest. _What could I have possibly done to deserve any of this? What makes me so much more entitled to such happiness than the so many whose prayers never seem to be answered?_ Mulder and I had been considering different names for our future daughter before he had fallen asleep. It seemed like no matter what one of us thought of, it was never good enough for our third miracle.

I can feel a hitch in Mulder's breathing, and he awakens in a sudden jerk. "What's wrong?" I ask nervously, trying to relax him by rubbing my thumb across his cheek, little stubbles of hair already sprouting. _God, he looks so sexy with a five o'clock shadow._

"Where are we?" he gasps. His eyes dart around wildly until he remembers everything. Then, he resettles around me, placing his head on my chest. I love it when he does this because it temporarily shifts him to an inferior, child-like role, emphasizing my natural, God-given maternal instincts to take care of him in his time of uncertainty. Don't get me wrong; it doesn't necessarily make me feel _superior_, but more importantly, it makes me feel needed.

"We're home," I answer, combing my fingers repeatedly around the back of his head. "Nightmare?"

"Hope so," he answers. "As opposed to a premonition."

"What happened?"

"My mom…she killed herself."

"_What?_"

"All I know is that it had something to do with Samantha. I woke up before I could figure out the details."

"Do you want to call her just in case?" He looks like he is having trouble making up his mind. I don't blame him, though. What would he say? _"Mom, are you ever going to commit suicide?"_ Probably not the best approach.

"I'll give her a call in the morning. Maybe we can take her out to lunch or dinner."

"That would be nice," I smile. "As long as you're awake now…" He gives me a suggestive leer. "…not where I was going with this, but sure sounds good to me," I laugh. He nuzzles back into his spot on my chest and wraps his legs around mine. "Anyway…I was thinking, trying to figure out this whole _second chance_ thing, and I couldn't help but realize how many memories we've missed out on by not just starting over completely. Mulder, we don't know anything about our kids. Doesn't that bother you?"

He quietly considers this, while unconsciously massaging my hips. _With every passing moment and every caress, fooling around a little is sounding more and more appealing. But no. This matter is important to me, and it must be discussed._ "Maybe that is something we can ask Melissa about," he shrugs. "She seems to have most of the answers."

"Yeah. We can bring it up tomorrow night when we pick up the kids." A mischievous grin forces its way across my face. _Now that that's settled…for now anyway…onto more appealing things_. I start to rub my hands up his T-shirt, and I feel his muscles thoroughly. He looks up at me with raised eyebrows, and I nod. Leveling his face to mine, he straddles my hips and kisses me powerfully. _Now this is life. Here we are, married, and marriage means never having to deny our desires again._

A little after four, I finally succumb to sleep.

I awaken to find that I'm alone in bed. Glancing casually at the clock, I have to do a double take and almost have a heart attack when I see that it is already almost noon. _He let me sleep in this late?_ I jump out of bed and put my pajamas back on, just for the sake of wearing _something_, before I leave the bedroom. "How long have you been up?"

He looks up from the paper and smiles. "Not too much longer than you. I probably got up an hour ago."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't see that it was necessary. You needed your sleep, and we don't have plans until later."

"Okay," I shrug. "Did you call your mom already?"

"Yeah. I called her after I got back from my jog. We're picking her up around four for dinner."

"I guess I should call Melissa about the kids."

"Oh, yeah, I did that too. She said she'll drop them off a little after eight, but if we aren't going to be home until later, to call her, and she can bring them by at nine instead." I look at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I thought you said you've only been up an hour?"

"Or two…or three…" he admits while biting his lip. "But you looked so peaceful. I couldn't wake you."

"That's okay. Actually, I'm glad. I was so tired." I sit at the table with him and stare blankly at the back of his newspaper. Beneath it, he has a half-eaten sandwich on a plate, and just as he starts to reach for it, I snatch the plate. "Thanks," I tease, taking a bite of his lunch. He neatly folds the paper and sets it on the table, only to stare back at me until I start laughing. "I'm sorry, were you going to finish this?" I chuckle as I take another bite.

"So this is how it's gonna be, huh?" I nod playfully. "Okay, then." He waits a second before lunging forward and grabbing onto my wrists. Pulling my wrists toward himself, while I try to keep them in place, his strength overpowers mine, and he takes a bite of the sandwich between my hands. But when he lets go of my wrists without warning, my arms slingshot back, and I smack myself in the chest.

"Ow!" I hide my face in embarrassment as he laughs, but then he tries to move my hand out of the way.

"Sorry," he whispers, still wearing a taunting grin. _Sure._ Then he offers, "You can finish that, but if you're still hungry, I can fix you something else." Momentarily taken aback by his sudden transition from his immature self to his new caring husband role, I feel my heart skip a beat. His eyes dance as he awaits my reply, but I am speechless.

I think I am finally able to speak again, but my attempt is interrupted by the phone ringing. "Mulder," he says into the receiver. "Oh hey. Yeah, that's fine. No problem. Not at all. I'll tell her. Okay. Bye." He hangs up the phone, and I eye him curiously. "That was your sister. She was just calling to say that Bill's gonna be in town tomorrow, so your Mom wants to have lunch at her house."

"Oh. Okay." I rub my eyes and stare at the sandwich with another blank gaze.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm just surprised to see how naturally this all comes to you. I never would have thought…"

"That I'd be husband material?"

"No. It's not that."

"What then?"

"Well, this transition seems to be a lot easier for you than it is for me. I'm still lost here, trying to figure out why this is even happening, and you…there you are being…just so…natural and perfect."

He gives me a skeptical grin. "Natural and perfect? Dana, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just trying to go with the flow. And as far as _why_, stop worrying about _why _this has happened, and just be thankful it has."

"I _am _thankful, but…"

"But you are a scientist. You always need answers." I nod disappointedly at myself.

"Then maybe you should ask Him."

**ChApTeR 11 (Mulder's pov)**

I am just running the lint roller down my sleeves one last time when she walks into our room and collapses on the bed. She is wearing a pair of kaki jeans and a brown button-up blouse, and her hair is twisted up in the back, held in place by a brown clip. _Wow._ She catches me staring at her gives me a quizzical look.

"Sorry. I was just…nice outfit."

"Thanks." She gets up and grabs a pair of brown sandals that have about a two-inch heel on them and straps them on. "Do we know where we are taking her?"

"Applebee's," I grin. "I wanted it to be a place with good food, reasonable prices, and casual attire."

"Mission accomplished," she chuckles, giving me a '_what am I going to do with you'_ glare.

"So, did you find any of your answers on your little walk?"

"Don't be facetious," she lectures, taking the lint roller from me when I'm done. "And no. But I did decide you were right…that I'm focusing on the wrong aspect of it all." She sticks the roller in a dresser drawer, and we walk to the elevator together. I still think it's funny that we ended up keeping her apartment, but then I think about the condition I kept mine in, and I'm suddenly glad. Her place is more spacious anyway.

"So, you're okay, then? You feel ready to just 'go with the flow,' and 'roll with the punches?'" I grin.

She rolls her eyes and then reflects my smile. "Yeah."

"Good. Then, let's do this." The elevator doors open to reveal the lobby, and we walk out to our car. The drive to my mom's place is very relaxed, and it isn't until I pull into her driveway that I realize we are in the suburban area surrounding D.C. _This is close._ Scully looks around at the odd surroundings and then furrows her eyebrows in thought. "How did I know how to get here?" I ask, both of us aware I had never gotten directions.

"That's weird," she responds. "Did she mention it when you called her this morning?"

"No. Wait a second! How did I even know what number to call? She obviously wouldn't be answering her old one in Martha's Vineyard." We shake our heads as if to clear our thoughts. _That's strange._

"Maybe you _remembered_ it," she offers. "You called Melissa this morning, too, and she never gave us her number either." Suddenly, the back car door opens behind me, practically scaring the crap out of us both.

"Hi, Fox," my mother greets as she nonchalantly gets into the seat.

"Hi, Mom." _Breathe. Breathe. _"How are you feeling?"

"Good, dear. How are you both?" _Dear? Since when does she call us dear? Oh, right. This is different now. Now, we are a close-knit family. I really like this._

"We're good," Scully answers when she realizes I am too lost in thought to do so myself. _The best part is knowing my nightmare was not a premonition. It can't be now…maybe if we had still had the same lives as before, but now things are different. It's like Melissa said: "…that doesn't mean that yesterday's future and today's future are the same." Maybe my dream would have been a premonition before, but not now. Now, it's just a nightmare._

Dinner goes seamlessly, and I am in awe, the whole time, at how casual the atmosphere is. Scully makes delightful conversation with Mom, and apparently, my mom loves her to death. So, that's really great! After dessert, we take Mom home and stay with her to visit for a while. At about seven-thirty, we look at the clock and decide we should be going. "Well, thank you, Fox. This was fun," my mother smiles. Scully and I are headed for the door when she adds, "I'm still taking the kids next weekend, right?"

"Yeah," Scully answers automatically, continuing with, "Melissa has the kids until we get home at six on Friday, and then we'll bring them over after dinner so that you don't have to cook." I give her an impressed expression, and she suddenly seems impressed with herself. My mom nods her head and thanks us again before we leave.

"Looks like you're getting your memory back too," I point out, once back on the road.

"Yeah," she sighs. "Sure looks that way."

**ChApTeR 12 (Scully's pov)**

We beat Melissa home but only by seconds. "Hey," she calls from her car as we are getting out of ours. "Meet you upstairs?" We nod and head up. When we get inside the apartment, Mulder leaves the door cracked open and heads for the bathroom. I lie on the couch and rest my eyes. Before I know it, I have two little bodies crawling all over me, and my sister appears behind the couch. "Hey," she grunts, looking down at me.

"Hey." I turn to the kids and greet each one of them affectionately, and then they cuddle between my body and the couch…Sammie practically already asleep. "They seem tired," I observe quietly.

"They should be. They had me up all night long." I give her a grateful smile and turn my head when I hear Mulder enter the room. He stops to take in the scene before him, and if I didn't know any better, I'd swear that his heart had melted on the spot. _He loves this. I love this. It is everything we've ever wanted. Only now, we don't have to hide it._ "Hi, Fox," Melissa says.

"Hi," he whispers, trying not to disturb the kids. "Thanks for bringing them home."

"My pleasure," she laughs. "Besides, I wanted to see how things are going. Do you have anymore questions, or do you pretty much have everything covered?"

Mulder looks at me, and I nod. "We pretty much have everything covered," he answers, "but we do have a couple questions."

"Sure. What are they?"

"Well," I begin, allowing my partner the chance to find a seat and get comfortable, "we've noticed that we are starting to remember things from this life. Little details and whatnot. I'm assuming we will eventually remember everything?" She nods thoughtfully. "Does that mean we will forget our old lives or anything about the thereafter?"

"No. It may be confusing at first, not being able to distinguish between the two, but eventually you'll get the hang of it. The purpose of this is so that you can always remember the significance of a prayer and that everything happens for a reason. It's a reminder to watch for God's signs and take advantage of them while the opportunities are there. Lastly, He doesn't want you to forget your old lives because, as Fox pointed out before, it was things like your abduction and your illness that had brought you so close together. Dana, in this life, you were never abducted. You were never barren, and you've never had cancer. He didn't think it was fair to take the effects of those events away from your memories because they have so much to do with who both of you are today and the love and friendship you share."

"So, if Dana was never abducted or had cancer, and you were never murdered," Mulder muses aloud, "does that mean Bill doesn't hate me?"

Melissa laughs and replies, "Far from, actually. He thinks you are the best thing to ever happen to his little sister." He looks from her to me and makes another _'well, what do ya know'_ face. "Yep."

"Thanks, Missy," I say, trying to shimmy out from under the two sleeping children. As I give her a hug, Mulder scoops up William and Samantha and carry them to their beds. He comes back into the room to say bye to my sister, and then we collapse back onto the couch. "Mulder?" I whisper, putting my feet on the cushion next to me and laying my head in his lap.

"Hmmm?"

"I love you."

His grip tightens possessively around me, and he runs his fingers through my hair. "I love you, too," I hear him whisper back. We stay like that for another hour, and then we migrate to bed, asleep the moment we hit our pillows.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning, I get up before Mulder and run out to buy a pregnancy test, just so I have some evidence. I get home and find him sitting at the table feeding the kids breakfast. "Where were you?" he asks in a monotone voice.

I hold up the box, and he suddenly shows interest. "Care to join me? I've been holdin' all morning, and I don't know how much longer my bladder can handle it."

He grins widely, makes sure Sam and Will are all set, and then pushes me into the bedroom playfully. "I don't know why I'm so excited," he laughs. "We already know it'll be positive." He sits on the bed and grabs my wrist before I can go into the bathroom. "Dana, hold up."

I shift my weight uncomfortably from side to side. "I'm serious, Mulder. I haven't gone yet today because it's best to do the test right when you get up." He brings my hand to his lips and places a sweet, open-mouthed kiss beneath my wedding ring and then holds it against his cheek. "It's exciting because it feels like we are experiencing it for the first time still," I tell him. He releases my hand and lies down on the bed while I rush to the bathroom.

"How long do we have to wait?" he whines as we sit on the edge of our bed in each other's arms. He has been staring at the timer ever since I set it.

"It should only be a couple more minutes."

"What are we waiting for again, Mommy?" questions Will, who is doing summersaults and bouncing on the bed impatiently behind our backs. _He gets it from his father_, I muse, though I know I can be impatient at times as well.

"Mommy has a test, remember?" shouts Samantha.

Will topples off the side and lands on his feet thanks to Mulder's new paternal reflexes. "Oh," he replies with a shrug. Then he turns to me and grins. "I hope you do well."

"Thank you, baby," I chuckle. Just then, the timer dings. Mulder and I look at each other and let out a long, heavy breath. "Here we go," I announce, getting up to check the results. The kids fall silent and each takes a seat on one of their daddy's knees. I give him a smile, and his eyes light up. "Positive," I say in a sing-song tone. He coaxes the kids off his lap and gives me a hug.

"Did you win?" Will wonders as he jumps up and down.

"You don't win on a test!" Samantha informs him boldly. Then, she turns to me and asks, "Did you get a better score than Daddy?" egocentrically missing the point that her question is also insinuating there is a winner.

"Now why would you ask that?" I grin, having to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

"Because Aunty Missa says you and Daddy try to beat each other at work," she answers with a series of nods.

"Oh, is that right?" I inquire, giving Mulder a smug grin. "Does she ever say who _usually _wins?"

"Daddy," they giggle simultaneously. My face drops into a look of mock sadness, and Mulder chuckles.

"Well," I pretend to mope, "obviously I'm just a big loser, huh?" Both toddlers shuffle forward to grab a hold of my legs in hopes of making me feel better. They tell me what a good mommy I am and insist I am a winner. "Thank you, you guys, but actually this test is different and very important." They look at me curiously. I squeeze Mulder's hand and get down on one knee, leveling my face to theirs. "This is a test that Daddy couldn't take because it's for mommies only." _How the hell do I do this? Will they even understand?_ "This test tells us that Daddy and I are going to have another baby." They stare at me with blank faces, and my stomach begins to stir nervously. _Am I doing this right?_ "What do you think about having a baby sister around?" I ask, remembering we technically don't know the sex yet. "Or a baby brother?" _Cover our bases just in case._ The kids exchange glances, and I still can't read their emotions.

Finally, Sam says, "We can pick?"

Mulder furrows his eyebrows quizzically, but I already know what she means…and it takes everything I have not to laugh. "Pick what?" he asks her.

"A sister or a brother." He is just about to chortle when he notices I've been holding my tongue, so he tries to do the same. "What'd I say wrong?" Sam wonders innocently, unable to comprehend our odd behavior.

"Nothing, baby," I reassure her, ruffling her hair carelessly. "You're just so adorable. That's all." I pucker up to give her a kiss on the forehead, but she pecks me on the lips. At that moment, I have to try to restrain myself from scooping her into my arms and smothering her to death, and it's all I can do. I have never felt a love so strong and pure for anything in my life as the love and adoration I feel for my kids. And suddenly, I understand what my mother has been saying for all these years. _How lucky I am to have the absolute most perfect life God could ever offer._

Will comes over to me for some attention of his own and clarifies, "So we don't get to pick?"

Again, Mulder chuckles to himself and answers, "No, Will. We get what we get…"

"And we don't have a fit!" they yell. Not expecting this reaction, he raises his eyebrows in an impressed manner. "That's what Aunty Missa says," Samantha explains. _Oh. Okay._

All in all, the kids seem eager enough about the eventual addition to the family, but now I have to figure out how to go about telling everyone else. I hope it's not poor taste to bring it up while Bill is visiting because I would hate to steal the spotlight from him. On the other hand, if I don't tell him with the rest of the family, that will surely hurt his feelings. Worries finally aside and the plan to "just do it" decided upon, Mulder and I keep our eyes on the clock, knowing it will soon be time to go. "What if I take a salad?" I ask from the kitchen.

"I don't know, Dana. Don't you think your mom would already have plenty of salad to serve?"

"Well, what should I take, then?"

"Nothing," he suggests. "Hell, you're giving her another grandchild. What more could she possibly want?" I try to look dissatisfied, but then a girlish giggle escapes me as I get excited about the baby. "That's right," he teases.

"Oh, stop it. You're excited too," I toss back as he finishes putting together a bag for Samantha and Will's travel goods. I figure he's right and give up on the side dish, with little guilt. "She's going to be so happy," I beam. He drops the bag carefully by the door and peeks in at the children who have worn themselves out and are now asleep on our bed. "So, is this better than our old lives?" He closes the space between us, and I can feel his hands on my stomach.

"So much better," he whispers from only a breath away. Our noses brush against one another, and I can feel myself getting lost in his stunning hazel eyes, so beautiful and intense that they can actually retard time. Moments expand as the beating of my own heart decelerates immensely, making me wonder if time can in fact stand still for just two people. And when our lips touch, it is only slightly. Parted and hovering only millimeters short of contact, until he takes me into his mouth, tasting me thoroughly. I want to taste him back, but my mind is whirling. All I can feel is the new presence within me, distracting me from the very passion that had led to its existence in this life I have yet to remember.

**ChApTeR 13 (Mulder's pov)**

The four of us enter Mrs. Scully's house and announce our arrival above the busy chatter. "Oh, come in! Come in, Fox," Maggie welcomes, hurrying to our aid and yelling over her shoulder, "Bill, your sister's here!" She then takes Sam and Will, their bag hanging on her arm, into the other room to join their cousins.

"Hi, Dana," Bill greets, pulling her into a bear hug. I watch her hand cover her stomach protectively as he does so, and it reminds me just out cut-out for motherhood she is. "Fox," I hear him say in a deliberately deeper voice. He has his hand out, and I accept it with a hardy shake.

"Welcome back," I smile.

Bill shrugs wearily and adds, "For the time being. You are a lucky man, Fox Mulder, to be able to spend as much time with your family as you do." He turns back to the crowd of people, all of whom are here for his visit. I consider what he has said, but it doesn't take consideration to agree. _I am a lucky man_. What takes consideration is the fact that I wouldn't have believed so only a few short days ago.

About an hour later, everyone sits at the table, and Maggie leads the family in saying Grace. For lunch, we are having four kinds of _salad_: fruit, potato, macaroni, and (what I like to call) "original." I give Scully a taunting grin the moment she notices them. Next on the menu is homemade lasagna, which will probably be filling enough to call this an early dinner. We all pick at the various other available dishes, and soon all plates are full… and all stomachs growling in anticipation of the same fate. The only one who hasn't dug in yet is Dana. "You okay?" I whisper so that no one else would hear. The last thing she needs right now is her mother getting all worried.

"It all looks so…"

"Delicious?" I offer, noting the grimace I get in response.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I drop my silverware, and they cling against the plate on their way to the wooden table. This gets, perhaps, more attention than I had meant to capture.

"What's wrong, Dana?" Maggie asks worriedly.

Scully looks at me, her eyes pleading for so many things I can barely decide on what issue to address first. However, her stomach makes the decision for me as her cheeks inflate, and I rush her to the bathroom. "Sorry," she whimpers, her voice made scratchy by the hydrochloric acid from her vomit. "I swear I wasn't aiming for you."

I can tell she is embarrassed, but even as I look down at the soiled cuff of my sleeve, I assure her there is no reason to be. "Are you feeling any better?" I ask, already starting to clean her mouth with a cool washcloth.

"A little bit. I don't know if I can go back out there, now, though." She forms a weak smile, but it disappears quickly. "This isn't exactly the 'welcome home' speech I had prepared."

"Sure it is," I grin. "No better intro to our great news than a little morning sickness." Getting an actual chuckle out of her, I allow my muscles to relax. I don't like seeing her in such a state, but at least this is normal, and there is no need for concern. I worry about her too much, and I know that, but I can't always help it.

We walk back into the kitchen where her whole family is quietly waiting to know what happened. "Go ahead," I whisper in Scully's ear, still supporting her weak and tired form.

"Mom, Bill, Melissa…everyone," she smiles, "Fox and I have some news." For Maggie, that's all it takes. The excited mother is up and pulling her daughter into a gentle embrace before she could even finish. Of course, Melissa already knows, so that just leaves Bill to draw his own conclusion.

"You're pregnant?" he gasps in delight. Dana nods her head, and by natural response, tears begin to stream down her face. "More mood swings, eh?" he chucks at me with a grin.

"You better watch it," she scolds him, causing everyone in the kitchen to laugh.

"Oh, Dana, I'm so happy for you," Maggie murmurs, still holding her daughter in her arms.

"Thank you, Mom."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well, that went well, don't you think?" I poke fun as we get ready for bed.

"Mulder…shut up." I gaze at her lips, anticipating their transformation from mock seriousness to a playful smirk. Watching those lips is like watching a sunset. God's masterpiece. And those eyes, piercing blue like the ocean to where the sun descends, both growing darker and darker as the sunset takes its romantic stance. Our daughters will have those same features, and I just know they will have the same strong currents behind them.

She tucks the kids into their beds as I crawl into our own. "So, I've finally thought of a worthy name."

"Oh?" she yawns, joining me under the covers. We get all cozy in each other's arms and relish the moment.

"Yeah. What do you think about Christa?"

"That's beautiful, Mulder, but what makes it a such worthy name?"

"Because she is our gift from God…this life is a gift from God. And I thought a nice way to say thank you would be to give her a name that, to us, symbolizes Christ, his son. People use names with religious roots all the time, especially the Hispanic culture: Jesus, Maria, Joseph. But, see, ours is special because it's more subtle." She stares at the ceiling in thought. Then, I notice a tear glistening beneath her eye. "It's perfect isn't it?" I smile.

"It's perfect. Everything is perfect." I rest my chin on her head and let my body relax around her. _Perfect._

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**Okay, that's it! Please please please tell me how you liked it…or if you didn't like it, tell me why. Thanx much! (I guess I'll get back to working on "Art Class" now. lol) Oh, and if any of you were reviewing my re-post of "Spoiled Water," the next series of chapters is up now, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it as well. I don't add to it tillI know people are reading it.Thanx again.**

**Amanda :-)**


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